


Lady In Red

by The_Consulting_Werewolf



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, fem!Yifan, why is that not a tag yet
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-19
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2019-04-25 03:04:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14369523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Consulting_Werewolf/pseuds/The_Consulting_Werewolf
Summary: Junmyeon just wanted to take a smoke break, but a lady in red had him forgetting all about his nicotine issues.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Suddenly, I don't know a Guns & Roses (dw I am still writing that but meanwhile enjoy this mess)

If anyone asked Junmyeon what he liked about his job, he wouldn’t be able to quite pinpoint it. He loves being the head designer of the company, he loves how he is never hindered creatively and he loves how he has the utmost freedom in his executive decisions. But if you asked what he hated about his job, he would be able to give you the right answer: he hates it when his tailors don’t listen to him.

Like right now, his head tailor, Hakyeon is throwing a fit because the junior tailor, Taeil had caused a major slip-up, which would now need fixing and Hakyeon doesn’t have time to allocate any other fixer to Junmyeon to help him with a sample. Junmyeon is furious, and he feels like screaming, since he has a deadline and he wanted the samples to be top priority. So, he just glares at Hakyeon one last time before stomping out of the production room. He needs a smoke, or two—this is stressful.

He marches all the way out of his unit and into the common ground area. The company has its headquarters in a sprawling area with the units divided into four buildings. Junmyeon’s company occupies two floors in one building. In between each building, there is a common garden area where employees mingle, take lunch break or smoke breaks. Everyone working in the fashion industry is always smoking here, and Junmyeon is no different.

He comes to stand underneath the leafy tree and fishes out the squashed packet of Marlboros out of his pocket. He puts a stick in his mouth and he is searching his pockets for the lighter when a loud scream nearly makes his skeleton jump through his skin. He looks above, at the building opposite his view and he is startled to see a man with a beer belly and bald head running down the gallery, looking over his shoulder in panic.

Junmyeon is then more amazed when a woman in loose blonde hair comes running after him. But it’s what she is wearing which makes him stumble. She is dressed in a silk red dress, which she has hiked over her knees from wherein he can see she is dressed in boyfriend jeans and the loud thwack of her feet on the marble floor tells him she is wearing rubber slippers. Expensive silk dress paired with jeans and rubber slippers? That is quite _a look._

Junmyeon forgets all about his cigarette when both persons stop to catch their breaths. The woman collects her hair in her hand and pulls it over her head, and Junmyeon feels all the air leaving his lungs in a whoosh. This woman in the strangest outfit ever is _gorgeous._ However, his admiration is halted when the woman grabs the man by his collar and bares her teeth at him. She sounds plenty furious since Junmyeon can hear her loud and clear from where he is standing. The woman growls, “If you give us inferior satin viscose lining again, I will cut your dick off.”

Junmyeon widens his eyes at the rather serious threat over something as simple as satin viscose lining but the poor man looks petrified as he splutters and rubs his hands, begging for mercy. The woman is tall, taller than the man cowering in her grip and Junmyeon thinks if he was the dude at her mercy, he would be pretty intimidated too.  Yet, he can’t help but admire the sharp jawline, high but rounded cheekbones and the _ridiculously_ plump lips that are still spewing some rather colourful words.

The woman finally lets the man go and the man bows a million times before she huffs and dismisses him. Finally, she realizes she has an audience, and her scowl lands on Junmyeon, who gets horribly startled at getting caught staring. The cigarette hanging loosely from his mouth drops to the grass at his feet. The woman’s scowl clears, however, and she looks sheepish as she bows and hiking her dress once again, runs back to her unit, or wherever she came running out from. What stays behind with Junmyeon is the slightly widened eyes, which were large and expressive, _beautiful,_ and the spots of pink on the high points of her face.

Junmyeon chuckles as he bends to pick up the cigarette. She was beautiful, and he hopes he gets to see her again.

 

Yifei rushes back into her unit, where her head tailor Jaehwan is grinning at her. The tailor says, “So, Kwangseok dead yet?”

Yifei grabs the hair elastic she had discarded on the cutting table and ties her hair into a messy bun. She huffs, “He will live this time, but if he sends us bad China viscose again, I will murder him.”

“Why do you keep insulting our brethren who work hard to make viscose?” the other tailor, who is Chinese like her, jests.

Yifei frowns at him, “Oh shut up Yukhei. You are from Hong Kong.”

“Now, now,” the other merchandiser, Joohyun, butts in. “No fighting or politics here. We are all slaves under this company, all hail.”

Yifei chuckles as she tugs at the neck of her dress; she turns to the tailors and says, “Now, finish this fit check, this dress is way too heavy.”

The tailors mill around her, noting all the minor errors as Yifei stands still. Joohyun hands her a biscuit, which she takes and starts grinning. When Joohyun raises her eyebrows in question, Yifei explains, “I saw that hot designer outside.”

“The one we were ogling at shamelessly at lunch that day?” Joohyun grins back.

“I think I scared him,” Yifei laughs and hides her gummy smile behind her hand.

Yukhei suddenly chips in, “Wait, why was Joohyun noona ogling a dude? Aren’t you like super gay?”

Joohyun rolls her eyes. “Gay, not blind.”

Yifei scoffs; but then it transforms into a soft smile as she thinks back to the designer’s shocked, handsome face. His hair was slicked back, and he looked rather delicious in his white shirt-blue jeans outfit. She hopes he gets to see him again, under better circumstances of course. And as she looks down at her outfit, in better clothes hopefully too.

 

Yifei likes working for this company as a merchandiser; sometimes it is hectic at  
Petit Cerf Fashions, but it is also fun and Yifei has made some great friends here. Joohyun, the other merchandiser is her closest friend, along with Soojung who’s the brand development manager. And her bosses are great as well, despite their opinions conflicting sometimes.

Yifei, however, is late today and she knows her ass is going to get metaphorically whopped today. She missed _all_ of her alarms, all four of them and when she woke up, she nearly cried because she had only twenty minutes to get out and get going. In retrospect, she shouldn’t have stayed up till two in the morning watching Attack on Titan.

She usually takes public transportation to work, but today she swapped that out with her roommate, Yixing’s scooter since the guy had an off day and was not going anywhere anyway (probably will call his boyfriend over and if she finds any incriminating bodily fluids anywhere again, she is going to kick Yixing’s bony ass out of the apartment). She arrives at work, almost fifteen minutes late and today is Friday, which means the husband-wife duo of her employers are coming early for the weekly update about production. Yifei is the head merchandiser, and even though she knows Joohyun is capable, the bosses still expect her to be around.

In her haste, she parks in a spot meant for another company, but she doesn’t have time to think about that as she hops down the vehicle and races towards her unit. Her hair is loose and it whips behind her, and the scarf she wrapped around her neck ends up sticking to her lips thanks to the lipgloss.  She emits a soft cry of “Fucking hell on a stick” as she rushes inside. The lift is ambling on the ground floor, and for the first time that day, she is actually thankful.

When she steps inside her office, she bites her tongue when she finds Minseok and Luhua—her bosses—waiting for her. Before Minseok can ask her anything, Yifei blurts out, “I know, I know! I am sorry!”

Minseok sets his mouth in a line as Luhua rolls her eyes. “She is only fifteen minutes late, calm down, will you?” The Chinese woman eyes Yifei’s silk scarf and her eyes widen, slightly sparkling, “Oh, that’s so pretty!”

The two women launch into a discussion about scarves and Minseok just rolls his eyes and heads towards the second unit, to go bother Jaehwan and Yukhei. Yifei heaves a sigh of relief and Luhua sends her a wink; Luhua is much lenient with their times—she is satisfied as long as everyone puts in their eight hours, unless of course anyone has an emergency.

Yifei heads for her desk and starts her work for the day. The three designers at Petite Cerf descend on her as soon as she has booted her system up. All three of them have lists of fabrics and trimmings they need, and Yifei wonders if it’s okay to cry in the first hour of the office. One of the designers, Yuta, stresses, “It has to be Chantilly lace, this design will lose its purpose without it!” Yifei resists the urge to smack her head on the table because she knows Minseok will complain about the consumption when he finds out that Yuta’s evening dress is sixty percent lace, _very expensive_ lace.

The other designer, Mingyu, points at his list, “It has to be the Pantone thirteen three nine one nine, please don’t forget!”

The third designer, Tzuyu, is on the quieter side and she just sends Yifei a small smile before walking back to her workstation. Her list is considerably smaller and has no excessive items. The designers leave her alone and she beckons Joohyun over. Soon, they start work and draw up a plan to decide who goes where and to which supplier to contact. They decide to leave together and later catch up for lunch outside.

Luhua bids them a goodbye and thankfully Minseok doesn’t ask to look at Yuta’s list. Yifei and Joohyun separate at the station and Yifei goes about searching for Chantilly lace.

Much later, closer to lunchtime, Yifei is tired and hungry and she calls Joohyun up, who says she probably won’t be able to meet for lunch since she is waiting for this supplier, and the shop is close to where her girlfriend works, so she will grab something to eat with her. Yifei grumbles over being left alone, but she is hungry and fuck everything else.

She finds a small noodle shop and decides to grab lunch there. She sees a small queue outside the shop and makes a low growling sound at that. The guy in front of her turns and she almost drops all her shopping bags. It is that hot designer guy!

Designer guy recognizes her too and gives her a smile that blinds her in the best way possible (inside, she is screaming; he is literal perfection up close and holy fuck how is he making just a plain black sweater so sexy?). She smiles and the memory of their first meeting embarrasses her again and she can feel her cheeks heating up. And she curses herself again when she realises her hair probably looks like a mess since she forgot an elastic band and snitched a pencil from a button shop when the owner wasn’t looking to fix her hair.

Designer dude rakes his gaze over her outfit of dirty rose midi-dress and beige overcoat with a scarf thrown around her neck for aesthetic purposes. Her face further warms as she says, “No, I am not always dressed in a dress and slippers.” Thank god she wore her kitten heels today!

Designer dude flashes her a toothy grin again and says, “I was hoping you didn’t! Though it was quite a look!” The line moves, and designer dude asks, “Would you mind joining me for lunch?”

Yifei is surprised, but she isn’t an idiot, so she nods her head and smiles, tucking a stray strand of blonde hair behind her ear. She is surprised about another thing; he hadn’t made a single comment about her height yet, maybe lunch wouldn’t be so bad.

They get a seat together and order their noodle set. Yifei learns his name is Kim Junmyeon and he is head designer at 11.11, which is a really cool brand owned by former musician Kim Taeyeon. Yifei had seen the singer once or twice and was too starstruck both times to ask for an autograph or a picture. Yifei leans over the table, her gummy smile on display as she says, “So, the last collection was yours? Dear lord, I loved the colour palette! I had almost saved enough for the red trenchcoat!”

Junmyeon smiles back, his cheeks warming due to the praise. As Yifei stands up to order their drinks, Junmyeon watches her go. She is even more stunning up close and honestly, he might end up doing something stupid by the end of this lunch, like asking her out on a date or something. He watches her line up at the drinks counter and she pulls out the pencil holding her hair. Her gleaming golden hair falls down her back and Junmyeon inaudibly sighs. She is taller than him, but he can’t bring himself to care, not when her gummy smile had pierced through his heart and he wishes he get to see it often.

And he doesn’t even want to start on how beautiful the shade of rose is against her slightly tanned skin. Or her eyes, which only has some mascara, or her lush lips tinted the lightest pink. Junmyeon swallows as she turns her head around and gives him a small wave. She finally gets to the front and places her order of two iced teas.

Yifei returns and Junmyeon watches her tuck the pencil behind her ear. He leans on the table and cups his chin as he asks, “So, why were you running about in that crazy outfit?”

Yifan laughs, putting her hand over her mouth. She quiets down and explains, “I am a size ten, in fact, our office has women of all the sizes we make, so sometimes we are roped in for fit checks. I was getting that dress checked when our lining supplier showed up with terrible made in China fake satin lining.”

Junmyeon scowls, “Fake satin lining is the worst.” Yifei nods her head, and the conversation soon becomes about fabric and untrustworthy suppliers. Their food and drinks arrive, and Yifei is surprised at how easy it is to talk to Junmyeon, and Junmyeon too is pleased that they have enough in common, even for strangers, to talk about.

Yifei looks at the time on her phone and curses softly under her breath. Junmyeon is wiping his mouth when he asks, “Do you have to return to your office?” When Yifei nods and brings out her wallet to pay her half of the bill, Junmyeon suggests, “You can hitch a ride with me, we are going to the same place after all.”

Yifei doesn’t see anything wrong about it and it would be convenient, since she has four huge carry bags to take back to the office. They walk to Junmyeon’s car, which is a sleek sedan, and their conversation picks up again when Junmyeon plays The Weeknd’s new album, who is also Yifei’s favourite artist. And soon they are discussing Selena Gomez and The Weeknd’s break-up as if the celebrities concerned are their closest friends and they saw their entire relationship fall apart with their own eyes.

They reach the production estate and Junmyeon stops suddenly and points at a bright yellow scooter. “Can you believe some asshole parked their scooter in a car park? And that too, at my spot!”

Yifei feels her face getting hot as she mumbles, “That’s my scooter.”

Junmyeon bites his tongue and wishes he could take it back, but she beats him to it and waves her hands, “I swear I didn’t even notice! I was in such a rush!”

Junmyeon doesn’t think too much before grabbing one of her wrist and shaking his head, “It’s okay. It’s not like my name is printed on the spot!”

Yifei calms down when she realises Junmyeon’s fingers are curled around her wrist and she notes how rough but warm they are, and now her face is warm for a whole other reason. Junmyeon’s eyes too flit towards his hand and he quickly releases her, his face matching her blush pretty well. Junmyeon clears his throat, “You can park wherever you want.”

Yifei licks her lower lip and shakes her head. “The scooter is just a loan. You won’t see it tomorrow, hopefully.” Junmyeon’s eyes had flicked towards her mouth when she swiped her tongue over her lower lip. And he would have kept staring if not for Yifei speaking again, “I am sorry though.”

Junmyeon exhales when he sees her pouting and her eyes wide in apology, “No, it’s okay.”

Junmyeon brings the car to another spot, closer to the building Yifei works in and Junmyeon immediately offers his help to carry the bags. Yifei refuses but she would need help and she was about to call one of the guys from her office to come help her, so she agrees. They head for the lifts and when they get down at her floor, Junmyeon asks, “Uh, can we, uh, like, do this again?”

Yifei is confused, but as the lift doors close behind them, she gets it. He was fidgeting too much in the lift, as if he was considering something over in his head and throwing her covert glances that didn’t go unnoticed by Yifei. Her lips slowly curve into a smile as she decides to tease the designer, “Are you asking me out, like on a date?”

Junmyeon’s cheeks darken and Yifei nearly coos at how cute that looks. The designer nods his head and bites down on his lower lip before saying, “I really enjoyed lunch with you, and you are gorgeous, and I really want to know you more.”

Yifei feels her heart skipping a few beats and she smiles, suddenly feeling shy. She feels his fingers curling around her wrist again and she hears his voice, a bit uncertain, as he says, “Yifei?”

Yifei looks up and smiles, “I would love that.” Junmyeon’s smile in response blinds her again.


	2. Chapter 2

Joohyun nearly screamed Yifei’s ear off when she got to know what transpired on the day she went sourcing and couldn’t join the other woman for lunch. “I can’t believe you are going on a date after a hundred years!” Joohyun exclaims.

Yukhei too joins them and throws an arm around Yifei. He turns the corners of his lips upside down as he wipes away a nonexistent tear, “Gee jiejie, I thought you would give me a chance. I am hurt.”

“I rather die than date noodles like you,” Yifei rolls her eyes as she shimmies out from Yukhei’s arm. The junior tailor is a major flirt and he means nothing, and this isn’t the first time they are bantering like this. Yukhei probably flirts with every eligible person here.

Truth be told, Yifei is buzzing with excitement deep inside. If she could, she would be bouncing off walls screaming about her date. Since she has a reputation to maintain and she is a professional, she supposes she cannot revert back to her teenager self. She shakes Yukhei and Joohyun off to go back to her desk. Today, she has promised herself that she will not move from her desk until all the excel sheets are completed. She has to update the sampling, then calculate the overhead charges, prepare the cost sheet for Yuta and Tzuyu’s collection and send it off to Luhua by the end of the day. She cracks her knuckles, rolls her neck, ties her waist-length hair with a pencil (her elastic ties keep magically disappearing), grabs her glasses (she has cylindrical power) and gets to work.

The first couple of hours passes okay, she hasn’t looked away from the screen and her eyeballs might be hurting, but she supposes The Weeknd is hurting more (the Melancholy album has been playing on a loop as she works). Suddenly, she finds Soojung standing near her desk; Yifei pulls out the earphones and asks, “What?”

Soojung had her hands behind her back, trying to hide something, but then with a grin she brings her hands forward and Yifei finds herself frowning down at the 11.11 bag and a bunch of pink roses in her hands. She asks again, “What?”

“Unnie told me you found yourself a date, and that too a pretty hot date, who sends you free stuff and flowers,” Soojung replies as she gently puts down the two things on Yifei’s desk. The BDM sashays back to her workstation leaving Yifei with her chest heaving and her head buzzing.

Yifei’s hands shake as she picks up the flowers, which are pretty and reminds her of the dress she was wearing yesterday. _That_ thought alone makes her feel lightheaded because she can see Junmyeon’s thought process through it. Next, she picks up the 11.11 shopping bag and when she tugs out the package inside, she yelps. It’s the red jacket she liked!

Something else also drops on her lap, which is Junmyeon’s business card on the back of which is a handwritten note that she reads with a massive smile on her face: _Hi, I hope this isn’t too fast too soon, but I found this surplus piece of the jacket you said you liked, and it was in your size, so I thought why not? I hope you like it!_

Yifei breaks her promise and gets up from her desk anyway. She marches towards the giant mirror at the back of the store and quickly puts on the jacket, which is long, stopping just above her knees. The shade of red is beautiful, and the suede finish is awesome. She sighs as she runs her hand over the collar and down the side. This jacket caught her eye the moment she saw the lookbook for the last winter’s catalogue from 11.11. But alas, a hospital visit for a minor fracture left her with very little funds to get the jacket that retails for thirty three hundred thousand won.

As Yifei admires herself in the mirror, the digital marketing intern, Jongin, joins her and touches the collar of her jacket. He smirks, “Gee noona, did you get a sugar daddy or something?”

Yifei rolls her eyes and removes the jacket. “Is my dating life not a secret anymore?”

Jongin cackles, “Nope! But nice jacket noona, wear it when you go on that date. Your designer date will be fifty shades impressed.”

Yifei folds the jacket and smirks, “I know you doofus, I am gonna do that exactly.”

“When’s the date?” Jongin asks as he leans on the mirror, eyeing Yifei in her high-waisted jeans and loose white shirt. She decided to wear a double-layered choker today and Jongin has to remind himself to not be a creep and stare at her beautiful neck.

“This Friday,” Yifei smiles, her eyes looking a bit glazed. Jongin scoffs, his stupid crush on the merchandiser needs to end. She doesn’t see him as anything but a friendly junior. “Which is in three days, oh my god.” Yifei has a small panic attack there and then, and Jongin rolls his eyes before hugging her shoulders and saying, “Pfft noona, have you seen yourself? You have nothing to worry about.”

Yifei squeezes the hand on her shoulder and smiles, “It has been three years since someone asked me out, so excuse me if I am a ball of awkward and nervous.”

Jongin smiles again, and he wants to add something but Soojung calls for Yifei and the merchandiser leaves him with a radiant smile. Jongin sighs as he watches Yifei walk away. He feels someone pat his shoulder and when he looks behind, he finds Taemin, the accountant and his friend, smile up at him, “She was always way out of your league dude.”

Jongin rolls his eyes and even though he shoves Taemin off him with a grin, he does acknowledge deep down that he has to get over his crush, he needs to.

 

Junmyeon has sent the package and now he waits at his desk, his leg shaking up and down--a nervous twitch he had since he was a kid. He really hopes Yifei doesn’t return the items, he also hopes he didn’t end up offending her somehow. It was just he went down to the godown yesterday and the jacket in size 10 was just lying there, hoping to be put up for a clearance sale somewhere soon. He did ask for permission from Taeyeon, who laughed at him first before saying yes.

But who gifts a woman a kind of expensive jacket who’s not even a girlfriend? Kim Junmyeon, that’s who. Kim Junmyeon, who hasn’t been able to stop thinking about Yifei since Friday last week. He did glimpse her once or twice and they shared small, shy smiles. They do text each other often and he is learning her sense of humour is odd, but charming. They were both too busy, and she looked frazzled, which made him worried for a while. So, he hopes his strange, out-of-the-blue gifts make her smile. Especially the roses, which he saw while coming to work today and it reminded him of her dress that day and he _had_ to get it.

He eyes the entrance of the office, he could take a small smoke break. He is about to leave his seat when the head merchandiser, Sehun, slides into his line of vision. Junmyeon gets terribly startled and knocks his hips against the edge of his desk. He hisses, in pain and in annoyance, “Oh Sehun!”

Sehun grins, “Are you sneaking away to meet your lady love?” The news of Junmyeon helping Yifei had spread like wildfire in 11.11 and as soon as he had entered his office that day, he had to spill all the details. And now, everyone is taking turns teasing him. Great.

Junmyeon sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose. He doesn’t dignify Sehun with an answer and walks away--he does hear Sehun whistling, which is amplified when the others join in, namely Johnny and Seulgi, another merchandiser and another designer respectively.

Junmyeon heads for the garden and hopes from the bottom of his heart that Yifei appears. He picks out a stick and he is about to put it between his lips when he hears someone shout, “Marlboros are terrible.”

Junmyeon looks up and his face breaks out into a huge grin when he finds Yifei grinning down at him, leaning over the railing of the balcony. His grin gets bigger when he notices she is wearing the red jacket. She leans back and disappears, but he knows she will be coming out to join him and his day suddenly gets better.

He tucks the cigarette back in the case and Yifei joins him, strolling up to him, huge smile on her face. When she is a few feet away from him, she even twirls and Junmyeon laughs. Yifei says, “Thank you Junmyeon, really.”

She leans in a bit and he can smell her fresh cherry blossom perfume, and he almost sighs. She is dressed in a white shirt and jeans, and oh _is that a choker._ Junmyeon tries to not ogle at how nice the piece of jewellery sits atop her rather pretty collarbones. And the red looks so good against her messy blonde hair; the late afternoon sun is on her back, making her hair glow and she looks ethereal. Someone sounding like him breathily says, “You look amazing.” When Yifei’s eyes widen and her cheeks darken, Junmyeon realises what he said, and he quickly coughs, “The red, red is definitely your colour.”

Yifei chuckles and points at the benches lining one side. Junmyeon nods his head and they go sit down. She rummages through the pockets of her jacket and cries when she finds what she is looking for: it’s a giant Snickers bar. She waves it around and asks, “Your favourite, right?”

Junmyeon finds his heart expanding in his chest when he realises she remembered what he said through one of their early morning chats a few days ago. He chuckles as he takes the candy and rips it open, breaking it into two and giving her one half. “I needed a sugar boost; how did you know that?” Junmyeon laughs.

Yifei quips, “I am the cavity fairy!”

Junmyeon chuckles, “I already have enough fillers.”

“I have two, and a fake tooth.”

Junmyeon raises an eyebrow as he bites into the candy. “Fake?”

“Root canal,” Yifei explains as she bites into her own piece.

The late April afternoon is nippy, but not freezing and the sun is nice and warm against their face. Junmyeon finds his eyes glued to Yifei, who starts detailing her horrifying root canal experience. At particular funny parts, he finds her covering her mouth and he ends up asking, “Why do you that?”

Yifei wipes her hand on her jeans and counter-questions, “Do what?”

“Cover your mouth when you laugh too hard?”

Yifei finds her face heating up when Junmyeon asks her that, his brows a little furrowed and his expression serious. She scratches the back of her neck as she answers, “My gums show a lot when I smile or laugh, so, eh, it’s kind of ugly.”

Junmyeon’s eyebrows rise up his forehead before he murmurs, “It’s not ugly, nothing about you is ugly.”

Yifei tears her gaze away from Junmyeon when he tells her that and gives her a small smile. She can’t handle compliments, especially about her face, but that’s a whole other story for another day. Right now, she feels both happy and embarrassed. He hears Junmyeon softly chuckle and she ends up laughing as well.

The late sunlight splays over them, and they both have work to do, but sitting together like this just sharing silences and a few words in between, feels too nice, and when Yifei makes Junmyeon laugh at a joke, she finds her heart skipping a beat at the rather perfect man beside her.

 

Friday rolls in, and both Junmyeon and Yifei had decided to head for dinner from work itself. Yifei shuts down her computer and feels the nerves when she grabs the dress she wanted to wear and walks for the bathrooms. She puts on the dress, which is a midi black dress with a A-line silhouette and a V-neck. The skirt is full and pleated, and Yifei might have bought it because it reminded her of an outfit Grace Kelly wore in _Rear Window._ She also slips on the pointed patent black leather kitten heels. She doesn’t usually go for higher heels because, well, she is already six feet and putting any more than two inches feels an excess. She quickly fixes her makeup, switching out the everyday pink gloss with a bright matte red. Since she sort of sucks with her hair, she just decides to take section off her temple and pin them down with bobby pins.

She smiles at her reflection and think she doesn’t look too bad. She picks up the 11.11 red jacket and puts it on, smiling into her collar. She smacks her forehead, reminding herself she is thirty, not fifteen, and there is no reason to feel this giddy. She exits the bathrooms and finds Joohyun waiting for her. Before she can ask what it is, Joohyun cries, “Oh my god unnie, do you know how awesome you look? He won’t see this coming!”

Yifei lightly shoves her, and the latter starts cackling, which attracts everyone’s attention and soon she is receiving so many compliments, she lowkey wants to die. Even the usually quite Tzuyu tells her, “You look so beautiful jiejie. I hope you have a nice time at the date tonight!”

“Yay noona!” Mingyu exclaims. “Fighting!”

Yifei is finally released and she walks down to the parking spot, where Junmyeon said he would be waiting for her. Yifei spots him before he can see her, and she has to take a deep breath when she finds him dressed in a simple outfit of a crisp white shirt and pressed dress pants. His hair is loose over his eyebrows, and Yifei bites down on her lip because how can someone look both hot and cute at the same time? How is that even possible?

Yifei eventually makes her presence known by clearing her throat. “Hey.”

Junmyeon turns his head to the side and his eyes widen as he rakes his gaze all over her. The air leaves his lungs in a great whoosh again and Yifei starts chuckling. Junmyeon feels his heart skip a beat at that. It’s unfair at how the deep black dress contrasts against her honey skin, showing off those ridiculously perfect collarbones. It’s like as if she _knew_ he liked her collarbones. Then a sudden thought plagues him—is it okay to like someone’s body part like that? However, he is broken out of his thoughts when she twirls in her dress and asks, “Ten points if you can guess who this dress reminds me of.”

“Grace Kelly in _Rear Window_?” Junmyeon hazards a guess. They had both discovered they shared a common interest in old Hollywood movies and a common love for everything Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn ever wore.

Yifei smiles, “Ten on ten Mr Kim!” She tumbles a little as she tries to twirl again, but Junmyeon catches her by grabbing her elbows. Junmyeon has to crane his head to look at her, but this close, he realises she has faint freckles and she has lined her eyes with eyeliner, which just makes her already beautiful eyes ten times more enthralling. And Junmyeon is pretty sure he can drown in them if he isn’t too careful.

Yifei straightens herself, her hands on the insides of Junmyeon’s elbow and murmurs, “Should have remembered I am not actually Grace Kelly.”

Junmyeon gives her a smile, and with great regret removes his hands off her. But then to Junmyeon’s greatest surprise, Yifei grabs his hand and flips her hair over her shoulder with a smug smirk, “Escort me to your car Mr Kim.”

Junmyeon is only too happy to do so and the voice in his head tries to ignore how perfectly her hand fit in his.

 

They are sitting in this nice Italian restaurant, reading through the wine menu and stealing glances of each other whenever possible. Yifei had been surprised how easy and comfortable she felt around Junmyeon, even though she has known him for only for a handful of days. Junmyeon is charming, intelligent and has a quirky sense of humour. Also, it doesn’t hurt that he is handsome as fuck and Yifei might have spent more time staring at Junmyeon’s lips as he spoke more than pay attention to half the things he said. His lips are nice and Yifei wonders how soon she can kiss him.

Thankfully, Yifei is distracted from her less than innocent thoughts when the starters arrive, and she sneers when she spots the coriander garnish. Junmyeon notices it right away and asks, “What is it? You don’t want this?”

“No, no,” Yifei shakes her head and pouts. “I don’t like coriander.”

“Ah!” Junmyeon smiles as his eyes widen. “Are you one of those people who are biologically engineered to not like how coriander tastes? I once read something like this somewhere that some people have it in their DNA to not like how coriander tastes like!”

Yifei shrugs and actually wonders, “Really? That a thing?” When Junmyeon nods his head, Yifei narrows her eyes, “My mother hates it too.”

“Aha, it’s definitely in your DNA then,” Junmyeon chuckles as he picks up a fork and starts piling his plate with the bread covered in the leaves. He leaves the leaf-less ones for Yifei, and the latter just sits there with warmth radiating throughout her whole long-ass body because no one has ever done so much for her on a first date. She decides there and then, she is going to keep Junmyeon forever. And the smart-ass version of herself asks her in her head, _oh really_?

A bottle of wine soon gets finished, and they order another in between their main course. Dessert is shared between them, a sinfully delightful panna cotta, and this is where things get too much for Yifei to handle. Junmyeon ends up with the strawberry coulis down his chin and he easily swipes it off with his tongue, and Yifei learns that his tongue is long, like _freakishly_ long and her brain fuses for a second. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, she ends up with coulis on her chin as well, and Kim fucking Junmyeon wipes it off with this thumb and licks it.

Yifei wonders if he is doing it intentionally, suddenly frustrating her sexually, but his eyes don’t betray him, and she can see he just wanted to help. The bill arrives and despite Yifei protesting, Junmyeon pays it with a low grumble of, “I asked you out.”

Yifei huffs and crosses her arms, “Then next time I pay!”

Junmyeon’s eyes widen and he looks so much like a little kid asking if it’s okay to take the last cookie right now that Yifei almost coos. “There will be a next time?”

Yifei leans over the table and smiles, “Of course there will be!”

Junmyeon exhales deeply as his lips curve into a slow smile. The restaurant has soft lighting and as Yifei leans closer, putting her elbows on the table, the light splays on her, painting her bit hazy but still so pretty. Junmyeon suddenly wants to see her like this, when she winds down at the end of the day and he can sit opposite her in a romantic restaurant with ambient lighting admiring her flawless beauty and gentle smiles.

Junmyeon smiles back, his cheeks lifting and his eyes crinkling, and Yifei has to tell her heart to stop beating so fast. A small voice in her head tells her she is falling too fast and this can’t be okay. But god damn it, Junmyeon’s smile is too cute and she might be melting inside a little. A lot, actually.


	3. Chapter 3

Yixing has been Yifei’s roommate since their college days. They started out sharing a small one BHK apartment where Yixing occupied the fold-out bed in the living room. They found jobs and made enough money to live separately, but it was more fun to stay together, and they had become so attached that they never quite got around to move out. They did move into this bigger apartment in a better neighbourhood five years ago though, since they could afford to now.

Yifei returns home from her date and finds Yixing sprawled on the floor in front of the television, which is playing some game show. Yixing is not even watching it, his eyes are closed and he looks to be napping. Yifei hears the gas getting turned on the stove and for half a second she thinks someone broke in, killed Yixing and is now turning the gas on to...prepare tea?

Yifei pokes in her head around the bend and finds Taekwoon, Yixing’s boyfriend, emptying a carton of milk into the pot. He feels eyes on his back and he turns around, smiling at Yifei, who waves back, “Hi there, whatcha doing?”

“Just making some hot chocolate,” Taekwoon explains. “Would you like some?”

“Yeah sure, why not?” Yifei makes herself comfortable at the small breakfast nook and watches Taekwoon as he flutters around the kitchen grabbing cups and spoons. She has always liked Taekwoon, and she always hoped both Yixing and Taekwoon got their heads out of their asses and saw how perfect they were for each other, which they finally did a few years ago after suffocating Yifei with their tension. Taekwoon is a veterinarian and had known Yixing since their school days. They didn’t have any contact throughout their college, but one day, one of of Yixing’s friend’s pet got sick and the nearest clinic they headed for was where Taekwoon was interning then, and they reconnected. When Yifei was introduced to Taekwoon five years ago, she quickly became friends with the doctor, and over the years got third wheeled often.

They have been dating for the last two years and Yifei is wondering when Yixing will sit her down and give her the bad news aka “Hey Yifei, I am moving in with Taekwoon”. Yifei wonders why that subject hasn’t been raised yet. And she is far too selfish to ask Yixing about it herself.

Yifei pulled out from her wondering when Taekwoon asks, “So, how was the date?”

Yifei sighs, “It was perfect.” Then her smile drops and she sighs again, which Taekwoon picks up and turns around to ask, “Was that a sad sigh?”

Yifei juts her lower lip out, annoyed at being caught. But she tries to explain, “It’s just...he’s so perfect. I mean, not entirely of course, no one is and his dad jokes are so bad I ended up laughing at them out of pity. But Taek,” she leans across the table and Taekwoon turns the gas knob to a simmer, putting all his attention on her. “I haven’t felt like this ever, like I am thinking if my feelings are moving too fast for me.”

Taekwoon gives her a lopsided smile. “Not everyone works the same way you know, and you can’t really quantify the speed you fall for someone.”

Yifei shrugs her shoulders. “I don’t know Taek. I feel like I already like him too much and this was just the first date.”

“Pfft,” a soft, sleepy voice sounds off behind her. “That lunch was definitely a first date.”

Yifei turns around to frown at Yixing, who is rubbing his eyes and yawning. “That was _not_ a date.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Yixing says, waving his hand as he walks towards Taekwoon. He throws his hands around his boyfriend’s waist and pushes his head under the taller man’s chin. Taekwoon gently pats his head with a soft smile on his face and Yifei both feels happy and jealous to see the two like this. Yixing is usually clingy after he wakes up and Taekwoon is always indulgent. Yixing turns around in Taekwoon’s embrace and adds, “Fine, an unofficial date.”

Yifei shakes her head. “Listen, it was just a coincidence.”

“The universe is rarely that lazy,” Yixing reminds her.

Yifei narrows her eyes and pointing her finger at Yixing, says, “Did you just quote Sherlock at me?” Yixing only just sends her a dimpled smile in response. Yifei sticks her tongue out in place of an eloquent comeback. Taekwoon just chuckles at them.

 

Monday morning blues are real when every cell in Junmyeon’s body is refusing to leave the very comfortable bed behind. But he has a new project to finish and even though Taeyeon is nice to him, she won’t be very happy if he suddenly took a day off. Neither would Yoona would be thrilled if he went AWOL. The creative director is a good person, but as deadlines come closer, Yoona flips out and with her, she also manages to drag Junmyeon down. And this affects Hakyeon, and this cycle is repeated every three months.

People only see the glitz and glamour of the fashion industry, and when Junmyeon had declared at seventeen that he was getting into design, no one warned him of all the blood, sweat and tears that are shed. He learnt to deal with all the shit over the years though, and the stress gets to him only when he lets it. And most of his stress can be attributed to Hakyeon. If that man wasn’t the best pattern-maker in the business, Junmyeon would have killed him by now. Also, he doesn’t want to not show up to work today and give Hakyeon any sort of satisfaction. So, begrudgingly, he lifts himself out of bed and into the shower.

However, as he brushes his teeth in the shower, he smiles, because at least there is one silver lining. He gets to see Yifei today and they have decided to get lunch together somewhere close by their offices. That’s the only thing that keeps him going--the prospect of spending time with her. He knows she is probably stumped with work as well. The summer part of spring-summer approaches and merchandisers can hardly take a breath during peak season prep times. And at Petit Cerf, he can only imagine how crazy it can get since they have three designers and only two merchandisers.

His mood lifts substantially by the time he finishes his breakfast and heads out. When he reaches the office, Sehun frowns at him, steaming cup of coffee in his hand, “Why are you so happy?”

Okay, Junmyeon hasn’t stopped smiling since he left his apartment. He shrugs his shoulders, “Nothing really.”

Seulgi, who was by the water cooler, suddenly chips in, “Did you finally get laid?”

Junmyeon splutters as he feels his face warm up, “Wha-what? No! It was just the first date!”

Sehun asks, slightly confused, “So, you don’t want to get laid?”

“I never said I didn’t!” Junmyeon shouts, and he feels his entire body heating up in embarrassment, now that he admits to his himself. Yifei is sexy, she really is and he isn’t blind, or as unaffected he can be sometimes. He huffs and marches to his workstation, but has to return to the hallway to punch in his entry; Seulgi and Sehun just laugh at his misery.

Junmyeon diligently works till lunch; Sehun has headed to the market with Jeonghan, the other merchandiser, hand-in-hand, all smiles. Taeyeon and Tiffany have never set any rules regarding dating in the company, and that is all fine, but what is not fine is the fact that those two are ridiculous and in love, and Junmyeon, along with a few others, occasionally gag at their PDA.

Junmyeon’s workstation is at the very back, close to the colour printer and his back is usually turned to the entrance. He can never tell who leaves and who enters the office, so when he hears a low buzz of murmurs and a familiar laugh, he frowns and looks back. Then, he almost falls off the chair when he finds Yifei conversing with Seulgi and Jeongyeon, the junior merchandiser and the company’s newest employee.

Yifei is dressed in all black, black pants and a lace top, her red jacket folded over her forearm, and her lips are a dark maroon, almost black from a distance. Her blonde hair is again in a messy bun, which just makes her ten times hotter. Junmyeon quickly saves his work and grabs his jacket and wallet. As he walks closer to the women, he notices the packets of food in Yifei’s hands and his footsteps make Yifei look at him, and the gummy smile he receives almost makes him stumble. “Hi,” Yifei greets him. “I got you lunch.”

Seulgi leans closer to Junmyeon and whispers loud enough for Yifei to hear, “How did you even end up with her? Yifei noona is definitely way out of your league.”

Yifei chuckles as Junmyeon scowls down at Seulgi. He walks up to Yifei and takes a packet from her hand and replaces it with his hand. Yifei’s cheeks colour a little when Junmyeon laces his fingers through hers and drags her away with Jeongyeon shouting, “Have a nice lunch!”

Yifei and Junmyeon head down to the garden and take their seats on what Junmyeon mentally calls “their bench”. Yifei got them Thai take-out, nothing too spicy since Junmyeon can’t handle it and a serving of coconut pudding because they both have massive sweet tooths. While eating, they both discuss what they are doing for the new season. They don’t feel uncomfortable sharing such information since both brands have completely different brand values and target audiences, and design identities.

Junmyeon chews on a peanut as he says, “I really don’t want to do too much embroidery, but Yoona inists, and so does Tiffany, but really now.”

Yifei nods her head. “Yup, there’s too much embroidery everywhere. And 11.11 is not really about all that extra jazz now, is it?”

Junmyeon nods his head. “Exactly! Tiffany and Yoona are best friends you know, so Yoona doesn’t really want to refuse Tiffany and since Tiffany and Taeyeon are married, it’s like now a mess for Yoona, who is obviously shuffling all the work on my head.”

Yifei chuckles, “I didn’t know the MD and owner were married. I mean ours are too, you know? Luhua and Minseok are good bosses, but Minseok can sometimes manage to get on my nerves so bad that I almost want to snap his neck. Thank god for Luhua, she’s an angel.”

“Luhua?” Junmyeon asks as he frowns slightly. “Is she kind of, of medium height and her chin disappears when she laughs too hard?”

Yifei is surprised and her eyes widen as she asks, “How do you know her?”

Junmyeon chuckles, “Taeyeon and Luhua are old friends. I saw Luhua once or twice at our office. They actually met way back when Taeyeon was still a singer.”

“Ah,” Yifei nods as she pops a piece of chicken in her mouth. “What a coincidence.”

“Or maybe this is what six degrees of separation means?” Junmyeon asks with a small smile.

Yifei can’t help but smile back; she suddenly feels shy and looks back down at her curry and rice. She is startled, however, when she feels warm fingers on her ear and she realises Junmyeon is tucking a piece of errant hair behind her ear. But his fingers linger too long on her jaw and Yifei looks up at him, and his lopsided smile is both attractive and kind, and she swallows when her heart lurches. They didn’t share a kiss or anything (no matter how much Yifei wished he did) after their date two nights ago, so Yifei’s heart rabbits.

Then, Junmyeon removes his fingers and returns to his food, and Yifei tries to not feel too disappointed. Meanwhile, Junmyeon is freaking out inside his head. Should he not have touched her like that? He really wanted to kiss her on their date, but his tongue had tied up and his brain had shut down when she wished him goodnight with another of those radiant smiles and got down from his car. And he really wants to kiss her right now, but he doesn’t want to do anything she doesn’t want to, so he decides he better finish the remnants of the pad thai in his hand.

“So, uh,” Junmyeon ventures, “Your designers driving you crazy still?”

Yifei sighs and then groans, “Yuta is such a drama queen, you won’t believe what he asked for again…”

 

Junmyeon had offered Yifei to drop her home, which Yifei had to refuse since she was going sourcing after lunch and would head home straight from the market. Junmyeon tried not to be disappointed at it, and tried to fathom why and when had he become so greedy to spend all his time with her if he probably could. She told him her week will probably get too busy and their second date would have to wait till the weekend, which Junmyeon was fine with because he will be busy too. But he promised he will get her lunch tomorrow and Yifei’s light blush at that left him with butterflies in his stomach.

Junmyeon left work at seven and he receives a message as he is starting his car. He looks at his phone to see a message from an old friend, asking to meet up for drinks. He smiles, he hadn’t seen Namjoon in a while, so he supposes it won’t hurt. He texts his affirmation and heads for the bar his friend sends the name of.

He finds Namjoon easily enough at the bar, the other’s hair is bright enough to locate him. Namjoon is all grins when he finds his hyung walking up to him. They went to the same college and were in the same department, and Namjoon now works in Taiwan, but usually drops by at Seoul since his company has a branch here as well. Junmyeon and Namjon became good friends, despite the latter being a year behind him. An issue about the bonding machine at design class brought them together and forged a friendship that has lasted all this while. They don’t see each other often, but whenever Namjoon is in town, he doesn’t forget to catch up with Junmyeon.

Junmyeon orders his drink and soon they are talking about all they have been up to. Finally, Namjoon asks, “So, how’s your single self? Found anyone yet?”

Junmyeon flushes and bites down on his lower lip. “Well, actually…”

Namjoon instantly jumps on him, his eyes wide with excitement, “Wait, wait, wait! You have found someone? Who is the victim? Spill all details!”

Junmyeon laughs. “Her name is Wu Yifei and she works at Petit Cerf, is a year older than me and drop dead gorgeous.”

Namjoon claps his hands, “Petit Cerf? I know that brand, they make really nice clothes. She a designer?”

“Nope,” Junmyeon watches their waiter put down their drinks. “A merchandiser.”

Namjoon nods as he stirs his mojito. “Drop dead gorgeous eh? Can we see her?”

Junmyeon chuckles again and pulls out his phone. Thankfully, Yifei has her own face in her Kakao Talk ID, and he opens it up to show Namjoon, who whistles. “How the fuck did you even manage to get her? And are you sure she’s a merchandiser, because she looks like a model!”

Junmyeon chuckles as Namjoon hands him his phone back, “She is not a model, though she could pass as one. She’s like really tall.”

“How tall?”

“Six, I think.”

Namjoon raises an eyebrow and asks, “And that doesn’t bother you?”

Junmyeon frowns slightly, “What?”

“She’s taller than you. A lot of short guys don’t date girls taller than them.”

“And that’s their problem,” Junmyeon says as he rolls his eyes. “I couldn’t care less. She is funny, smart and way too hot for me, and that’s all that is important.”

Namjoon laughs, a bit apologetic when he sees how serious Junmyeon’s expression has become. “Chill hyung, I know it doesn’t bother you. You always had cared two hoots about such superficial things.”

“Damn right,” Junmyeon nods as he picks up his drink. He really doesn’t care that Yifei stands taller than him. Their conversation soon ends up at Junmyeon and Yifei’s first date and Junmyeon ends up crying, “And damn, I wanted to kiss her so bad!”

Namjoon clicks his tongue, “And why didn’t you?”

Junmyeon pouts into his glass of espresso martini, “Because I didn’t want to come on as an overeager idiot.”

Namjoon chortles when he hears Junmyeon’s reason. “While it’s sweet that you didn’t want to spook her, but what if she wanted you to kiss her first?”

Junmyeon looks at his friend, and his eyes widen when he thinks about it. What if, indeed, Yifei waited for him to make the first move? His mouth purses and he mutters, “Oh.”

Namjoon shakes his head. “Next time, just kiss the lady. In fact, start making out, it might even bring you _closer_.”

Junmyeon whacks Namjoon on his forehead when the latter starts laughing at Junmyeon’s red face.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and i will never stop sneaking in Leoxing, n e v e r


	4. Chapter 4

Yifei is at her desk, smiling at the last message Junmyeon sent. It was a long, winded rant about Junmyeon and his constant love-hate relationship with Hakyeon. It is sort of amazing how comfortable Junmyeon already is with her, opening up bit by bit and the more Yifei learns, the more she wants to know. Junmyeon is like no one she has ever met before. He is dedicated to what he does, loves his job, even though it also drives him mad, and it is sort of admirable. Yifei understands his journey wasn’t easy and she might be lowkey proud of him.

She puts down the phone and bites down on her lower lip. So far, so good; Junmyeon doesn’t seem to bothered by a lot of things about her. She is still surprised about the day he asked her out. She doesn’t get asked out like that in person often. Most men see her towering over them and scram, but Junmyeon didn’t, and even though a part of Yifei is happy, another is waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Her gaze falls on the wall clock and she sits up with a jolt,she is supposed to meet Junmyeon for lunch! She quickly saves her work and grabs her jacket as she rushes out of the office. Joohyun already had been informed and the junior merchandiser huffed a little about losing her lunchmate to Junmyeon, but let it go at Yifei’s obvious excitement.

Yifei is waiting for the elevator and when it arrives, it brings Junmyeon with it. Her lips curve into a smile instantly, like a reflex and Junmyeon mirrors her expression. He chuckles, “Is Subway okay for today?”

“The one by the bus stop?” Yifei asks as she steps inside the lift. When Junmyeon nods, she continues, “That’s cool. I haven’t eaten their choco chip cookie in a while.”

Junmyeon shakes his head as he presses for the ground floor. “All that sugar isn’t good for you, you know.”

“It isn’t good for you either,” Yifei narrows her eyes and reminds him. Then, her eyes crinkle as she chuckles, “I think, we are both reinforcing our sweet tooths, aren’t we?”

Junmyeon laughs as the lift stops at the ground floor. The doors open and Yifei crooks her elbow around his and as they step out, he says, “I don’t mind getting cavities again if it’s you.”

Yifei feels her cheeks warm up and when Junmyeon registers the words that left his mouth without his consent, he too starts blushing. Yifei pokes his cheek and says, “You are so cheesy, I swear.”

Junmyeon crooks an eyebrow as they start walking out. “You haven’t seen nothing yet.”

Yifei rolls her eyes, and that makes him laugh. Yifei’s heart does strange flippy-floppy things as she watches him laugh, his eyes sparkling and his cheeks flushed. He’s beautiful, and he is all hers and Yifei thinks that for now she won’t let anything bring her down. If the other shoe ever drops, she will think about whatever comes then. For now, she wants to enjoy the happiness Junmyeon brings her.

They enter the Subway, which is a two minute walk from their offices. It is mostly empty, and Junmyeon groans when he finds Sehun and Jeonghan already occupying a table. Yifei is about to ask what’s wrong when a tall, handsome man waves at Junmyeon, shouting his name loudly.

Junmyeon groans again and pulls Yifei over to the table. Yifei notices the other man sitting there, who’s rather handsome as well, and she is transfixed at his lilac hair and briefly wonders if she can pull that off. Junmyeon points at tall guy and says, “This is Sehun, our merchandiser, and this Jeonghan, a merchandiser too, and--”

“And we are dating,” the lilac guy, Jeonghan, adds. Yifei smiles at them both and Sehun shifts aside to make her a place on the bench as he says, “And you must be Yifei, right? Seulgi was right, you are stunning.”

Yifei ends up chuckling lightly, feeling mighty awkward as Jeonghan repeats what Sehun said, and Sehun adds, “Can’t believe Junmyeon hyung actually managed to ask you out.”

Junmyeon splutters, moving across the table to pull at Sehun’s ear. The man doesn’t even looks sorry as he apologises. Yifei laughs, covering her mouth. Jeonghan observes her, and he must admit Junmyeon hyung has finally done something well for himself. He knows Junmyeon is horribly awkward around women he likes, as seen from the last time that design intern that worked them for two months. However, Yifei isn’t in her early twenties and actually dresses well instead of living in trainers and sweatshirts. Though, Jeonghan thinks she can probably pull that off and look like a million bucks.

Junmyeon leaves the table with Sehun to place their order and Jeonghan smiles at Yifei, who smiles back, her expression warm and friendly. He says, “I hope you don’t mind Sehun and Junmyeon hyung. They are always fighting but they also love each other a lot.”

Yifei shakes her head. “It’s okay; I am the same with my designers as well. They are all like my talented, bratty children.”

Jeonghan’s eyes widen, “Ah, you are a merchandiser as  well?” When Yifei nods, he resumes, “I honestly thought you were a designer yourself!”

Junmyeon looks back at the table as he waits for their sandwiches. Sehun is ensuring they make his boyfriend’s sandwich perfectly and Junmyeon sighs as he watches Yifei lean forward on the table and talk with Jeonghan. Her hair is actually tied into a high ponytail today and not twisted around a piece of stationery, and her bangs are swept to the side, and it’s a real good look on her (but then again, what isn’t?). She is definitely channeling Audrey Hepburn today in her Beatnik outfit and red lipstick.

Sehun grins beside him, “You are ogling hyung.”

Junmyeon gets startled as he frowns at Sehun. “I am not”

“Sure hyung,” Sehun laughs. “You can’t keep your eyes off her, can you? Though I understand, she can pass off as a Victoria’s Angel anyday.”

Junmyeon hisses, “No staring Sehun.”

“Hyung, in case you haven’t noticed, I am gay. Not blind and tasteless though.”

Junmyeon rolls his eyes and pinches Sehun’s arm. Sehun acts as if that pained him greatly and Junmyeon pinches the bridge of his own nose.

 

Joohyun watches Yifei have a small meltdown at her workstation and bites her lip. It’s peak season time and the supplier they are sourcing from just informed them that the linen will actually take a month and a half to come instead of the two weeks he had promised. They really needed the linen since their collection this season mostly focuses on linen. Production will get delayed and no one has informed Minseok or Luhua yet.

Yifei has her head plunked on the desk, her hair loosening from her bun, which is twisted around an unused chopstick of all things today. She can’t believe the supplier betrayed her like this. And someone has to call Minseok, and she really doesn’t want to. She knows the man will shift the blame on her; after all, she’s the head merchandiser and she is supposed to have alternatives but Yifei really didn’t see this coming. She feels a hand patting her hair and she doesn’t have to look up to know it’s Joohyun, but to her surprise she hears Soojung talking, “Unnie, come on, it’s okay. We will think of something, I got you both dinner, come on.”

Yifei looks up and smiles at Soojung, who indeed has dinner with her. It is pushing eight on the clock now and the office only has the three of them. Soojung has no business in the merchandising department, but she has occasionally pitched in her help out of affection for her unnies. They sit down to eat and start brainstorming, sending messages to every supplier they know.

Close to ten, they finally get a reply from a supplier they got leather from that he may have a contact who can supply them the quantity of linen they are looking for. He promises he will bring the person to the office tomorrow. Joohyun nearly weeps in joy, then Soojung reminds them, “Someone has to inform the bosses.”

Yifei grumbles and pouts, “You do it, he likes you more than me and Joohyun anyday.”

Soojung presses her lips and narrows her eyes; she knows she is the one who is closest to Minseok since the man looks after the more business part of Petit Cerf than Luhua. She supposes Yifei has a point, Minseok does listen to her, so she take it upon herself to call the man. She leaves the table to have the conversation and when she returns, she finds Yifei and Joohyun looking at her with wide eyes. Soojung nods, “He sounded upset, but he appreciates you two tried to resolve this.”

Joohyun hums, “That means, we are still going to get an earful when he comes to office tomorrow.”

Yifei groans as she picks up the empty packets of food. “We will see about it tomorrow. You all go home, I will lock up.”

Soojung and Joohyun protest, but Yifei shoos them off. The two of them live farther from the office than she does and she knows they won’t be back home by twelve if they stay. Joohyun leaves with a tight hug and reminds Yifei to put on a sleeping mask tonight before bed; Yifei both laughs and pinches her arm in response.

Her colleagues leave and Yifei shuts down her system and after ensuring all the computers and printers are off, she locks up after herself. She is walking down the balcony that overlooks into the garden and smiles. It has been a few days since their Subway double date. It was fun and yesterday, Junmyeon had lunch with her at Petit Cerf with Joohyun and Soojung, who, after he had left, jumped on her asking her when she is going to jump on Junmyeon. She couldn’t tell them that they haven’t even kissed yet, and in a few days, it would be their first month of dating.

Yifei shakes her head as she takes the stairs. She is still wearing the red jacket; she hasn’t been able to put it down since she received it. She heads for the night watchman’s office to submit the keys and to her surprise, she finds Junmyeon doing the same. They both gasp and widen their eyes at each other.

Junmyeon wanted to finish the designs today itself and not keep putting it off any longer. He hadn’t realised how late it was getting and when he did, he was surprised to see the office empty and silent. Vaguely, he remembered Sehun bidding him good night. But he didn’t expect he would find Yifei here as well. And it is a pleasant surprise. “Working late?” he asks as they walk out of the watchman’s office.

Yifei yawns and frowns, “More like trying to not get killed by Minseok tomorrow.”

When Junmyeon asks to elaborate, Yifei launches into her rant. Junmyeon nods along, “Linen usually takes time, but the supplier shouldn’t have guessed the time like that. He should have been upfront about this.”

They had reached the parking lot while talking and Yifei groans, “Exactly! I know that linen takes time and I genuinely thought he had material in stock and he assured me he did and then he goes and fucks up everything!”

Junmyeon pats her shoulder and hums in empathy; he has been there and done that. Designers get roped in sourcing too at times and Junmyeon is only too well-versed with overconfident suppliers. He unlocks his car and says, “Hey, it’s late, let me drop you home.”

Yifei is about to protest but then she deems this is a sound idea anyway. The one bus she takes home will have stopped running by now and the other late night bus takes its own sweet time to move--it will probably take her the whole night to reach home and her bed calls her. She nods and Junmyeon flashes her one of those megawatt smiles and it shouldn’t melt her heart when he looks so tired, but it does. With her body not taking permission from her, Yifei finds her hand reaching for him and cupping his cheek, gently circling her thumb under his eye. She murmurs, her voice unusually soft, “You look tired.”

Junmyeon’s heart is thudding hard in his chest. Yifei is looking at him and her eyes are so gentle, he’s knees almost wobble. He closes his eyes and sighs, leaning into Yifei’s touch, whos spreads her hand on his face and before he could open his eyes, he feels a soft pressure on his lips. His eyes fly open and he notices two things: one, Yifei is blushing and two, she is much closer to him than before.

Yifei couldn’t help herself; a tired Junmyeon with dark circles and messy hair were doing things to her heart and a huge part of her just wanted to draw him into her arms and keep him there. However, the kiss was something she herself didn’t see coming. So, when Junmyeon opens his eyes and stares wildly at her, she takes a small step back and mumbles, “Sorry.”

Junmyeon chuckles softly and closes the one step she took, and puts both his hands on her waist. Yifei looks at him, her eyes wide and her lips slightly parted. Junmyeon tilts his head and says, “You don’t have to be sorry Yifei.” And then he is pulling her down by curling a hand around her nape and their lips meet, and Yifei almost cries. Junmyeon’s lips are soft and plush, and Yifei doesn’t wait to kiss back.

It is a gentle caress, and lasts all of maybe five seconds, but it leaves Yifei’s body warm and tingling and when they part, Junmyeon has a small, mischievous smile on his face and it further warms the very corners of Yifei’s heart. Junmyeon cups her face and kisses her again, but pulls back too soon and Yifei pouts. Junmyeon smiles, “Been wanting to do that for a while now.”

Yifei laughs and rests her forehead against his. For the first time in her life, she is glad she is tall; she can see the way Junmyeon’s eyes shine up at her and Yifei feels herself slowly falling into them. Though it scares her, she tells herself that maybe if it is Junmyeon, this will be okay.

 

Junmyeon wakes up smiling; he can’t remember the last time he did that in his life. Probably never. But today, it’s going to be a great day, he knows, he can feel it. Even the prospect of seeing Hakyeon’s face when the tailor knows about the design changes Junmyeon made couldn’t have made him happier than the fact that last night happened, and his lips still remember how nice Yifei’s lips felt on his. And today, Yifei had agreed that maybe they can come to work together as well, so he will be picking her up en route.

Junmyeon gets ready as fast as he can, he has never looked forward going to work this bad. He is out through the door in under an hour and he reaches Yifei’s apartment in a few minutes. He gives her a call and she picks up in a couple of rings. “Junmyeon?” Yifei says. “You already here?”

Junmyeon feels his face warming up; his overeager ass couldn’t wait to see her and he knows he is early, but Yifei chuckles before he could answer, “This is actually great, come upstairs, Yixing is making jianbing! It’s the fifth floor, the third flat down the corridor.”

Junmyeon says, “Okay!” He did skip breakfast in his rush, so he ambles into the visitor’s parking area and finds an empty spot. He parks his car and after scribbling his entry into the visitor log, he takes the elevators to get to Yifei and Yixing’s apartment. He had heard of Yixing, Yifei’s best friend and roommate for a decade. He knows the man is a music producer and works crazy hours.

He is in front of unit 533 when the door opens to a man in messy brown hair without a shirt smiling at Junmyeon, who fathoms this must be Yixing. A dimpled smile is thrown at him and Junmyeon returns it. Yixing is still wearing pants and an apron, and he grabs Junmyeon’s elbow and gently tugs him inside with a sing-song, “Hi there! I am Yixing and I am so glad I am finally meeting you! I almost thought you were imaginary.”

Someone from inside the house shouts, “Yah Zhang Yixing! I will choke you to death!”

Junmyeon laughs as he takes off his shoes and steps inside the condominium. The apartment is on the top-most floor of the building and has an open plan, with large windows streaming in sunlight, washing over the ecru and white interiors of the room. On his right, Junmyeon spots Yifei in the kitchen, her hair tied up in a messy bun over her head and dressed in a large hoodie and shorts, and Junmyeon gulps.

Yifei walks up to greet him and takes his hand. Meanwhile, Junmyeon is trying to erase the image of her legs, which went on _forever_  and were perfect and golden and his thoughts are now going down the gutter. Her face is bare and her hair isn’t brushed as her bangs lay haphazardly on her forehead. And then she kisses him. Yixing sniggers in the background and Junmyeon is dying a little inside.

Yifei laughs at Junmyeon’s expression and scrunches her nose, “Now that I know I can kiss you, I am gonna kiss you all the time. Get used to it.”

Junmyeon feels his mouth move into a smile and he knows it is one of his stupid, goofy grins that Sehun says makes him look like a fool but he can’t stop as his entire body vibrates with happiness. Yifei throws her head back and laughs, and Junmyeon knows he is in trouble when he feels her elation spread throughout his body, from his toes to the tips of his hair. He pulls her close and tucks his head on her neck. He kisses her on her pulse and mumbles, “Oh god, you will kill me.”

Yifei smells faintly like coffee and cherry blossoms again and he feels her long fingers caress through his hair and he sighs into her skin. Yifei smiles into his hair and wraps her arms around him, oddly content with herself. He smells nice and he is warm pressed against her and for a small moment, she doesn’t want to let go. And that small, barely there touch of his lips on her skin is getting her warm for _another_ whole reason. So, before she actually jumps on him in front of Yixing, who she can hear pattering about in the kitchen, she pulls back and smiles, “So, have you ever had jianbing before?”

Junmyeon shakes his head and Yifei laces her fingers through his as she drags him over to the breakfast counter. Junmyeon is disappointed by the abrupt end of the hug, but his stomach reminds him he needs food. They sit down and Yixing puts on a t-shirt after a firm scolding from Yifei. He acts like a puppy who got reprimanded for chewing up cushions and Junmyeon can’t help but laugh. Breakfast is pleasant, and the thin pancakes stuffed with eggs and vegetables is delicious, and Junmyeon finds himself liking all of it a lot--especially the part where Yifei tangled her ankles with his.

Junmyeon offers Yixing help with cleaning up as Yifei heads off upstairs to get ready for work. As Yixing scrubs the nonstick pan, he says, “So, young man, tell me, are your intentions pure?”

Junmyeon, who was wiping the counter nearly squeaks at that question. No, ever since he realised how hot Yifei looks in short shorts, his mind is struggling to rise out of the gutter. But, he replies, “I, I like her a lot.”

Yixing smiles; he can hear Junmyeon’s voice shaking. He turns around and says, “It’s okay, I know. I can see it in the way you look at her, and honestly, I am glad she found you.” He sends Junmyeon a soft smile, hoping to ease the man who looks like he is about to bolt or cry or both. “Chill Junmyeon, I am just teasing you.”

Junmyeon doesn’t chill, not really when Yixing continues as he turns back to the pan, “I have seen many guys trying to get into Yifei’s pants, guys who just got sucked in because, well, she’s stunning. But she’s more than that and some fragile male egos cannot stand a woman who’s more successful or taller than them. I hope you are not one of them.”

Junmyeon takes the paper kitchen towel he was using and throws it in the bin. He comes to stand beside Yixing and says, “I like her a lot Yixing. I won’t be able to tell you exactly why, but I know this is real for me. I won’t lie that yes, it was her obvious good looks that drew me in, but I do know she’s more than that and I really, really like her.”

Yixing seems satisfied with his answer and he pats Junmyeon on his back and then apologises when they both realise Yixing’s hand was wet and now Junmyeon’s pale grey shirt has a wet handprint on his back. Yixing apologises while Junmyeon keeps laughing and saying it’s okay.

On the top of the stairs, hidden away from view from the kitchen, Yifei sits on the top stairs with a huge smile on her face. She had heard the men’s exchange downstairs and hearing Junmyeon’s answer had her heart skipping multiple beats and her blood rushing to her face. She tucks her face in her palms and keeps smiling while a tiny voice inside her head tells her to give herself a chance to fall.


	5. Chapter 5

Junmyeon laces his fingers through Yifei’s and smiles; this is nice, this is really nice. They are on a breakfast date and they really don’t have a plan, but this is okay. Yifei’s linen issue has been fixed and Hakyeon grudgingly accepted Junmyeon’s altered designs--so they were freed from their burdens and they could spend this Saturday morning together today.

It was completely random, completely impulsive. They both sent texts to each other and when they learnt they have nothing planned for today, they both decided to meet for breakfast and decide what to do.

Yifei is dressed down today, in the boyfriend jeans he had seen her wear all those days ago and a large sweatshirt. Her hair is loose down her back and as a gentle breeze lifts it, a few strands fly into Junmyeon’s face, he smiles. Her hair lightly smells like flowers and Junmyeon likes it. They met up at Yifei’s place and Junmyeon left his car there as they headed to a cafe on foot.

May is around the corner, so the weather is leaning more towards the warm side now, however, chilly winds occasionally blow through the city, the cold spring refusing to relent to the warm summer that is to come. Junmyeon, too, has this old sweatshirt on, the bold print of SKKU on the back with the college logo and dark jeans. Yifei thinks he looks great; she decides he likes this version of Junmyeon more--the one were he just rolls out of bed and doesn’t put any hair product in his hair, or care much about his appearance. They reach the cafe and Yifei opens the door for them. They find a nice seat near the window and Junmyeon goes to the counter to place their order.

When Junmyeon returns, he finds Yifei hunched over the table, poring over her phone. The sunlight drapes over, turning her hair into molten gold and Junmyeon sighs. Yifei hears him and sends him a questioning look. Junmyeon slides into his seat and cups his chin as he says, “You, you are so beautiful.” Yifei blushes and grins, raising her hand to cover her face. Junmyeon frowns a little as he quickly grabs her slim wrist and drags her hand down with a firm shake of his head. “Stop doing that, I can’t see your smile if you keep doing that.”

Yifei knows her face is red because she feels hot and she knows the air conditioner in the cafe is working quite okay. But she listens to him and puts down her hand. Junmyeon doesn’t waste any time in intertwining their fingers again and bringing it up to his lips to kiss her knuckles. Yifei shakes her head, a small, indulgent smile on her face, “You have to stop saying such cheesy things.”

“You secretly like it, don’t deny,” Junmyeon pouts.

Yifei chuckles before she leans forward to kiss that pout away. “Yeah, yeah, whatever makes you happy.”

It is Junmyeon’s turn to blush; he is still trying to get used to being kissed without warning and Yifei enjoys his flustered face way too much, so she keeps doing that. Junmyeon doesn’t have any complaints about it though.

Yifei asks about the sweatshirt Junmyeon is wearing and soon they start sharing stories about their college lives. Junmyeon says, “My only remaining friend from college is Namjoon, who’s in Taiwan right now with a men’s brand. He is their chief graphic designer and since they do mostly unique prints, he is doing good, and he will get married soon apparently, though he has yet to ask his boyfriend.”

Yifei asks, “Yet to ask?”

Junmyeon laughs, “He has the ring but he hasn’t asked Seokjin, his boyfriend, to marry him yet! But he has already almost planned his wedding!”

Yifei laughs along, “That sounds like exactly like what Joohyun is doing! She too has the ring, but she is too chicken to ask Wendy, her girlfriend to marry her, which is ridiculous, I know Wendy will say yes. But yeah, Joohyun already has made a list of shops she will visit to source her fabrics for their wedding trousseau.”

Junmyeon throws his head back and laughs, “Namjoon asked if wool blend is okay or polyster blend is fine for his wedding suit!”

The conversation soon turns to other friends they have outside their fields. Yifei begins, “I am still close to my three childhood friends, when I used to live in Canada. One is still in Canada, but the other two are spread across the world. Meeting is almost impossible, but we try once or twice every year.”

“That sounds sad,” Junmyeon says and squeezes her hand. “I am glad my two childhood friends are still here. Kyungsoo is a busy chef, and Juhyun is on a sabbatical, but we still try to meet-up every month.”

“Sabbatical?”

“Oh!” Junmyeon cries as he brings out his phone. “She is a mother now, and I am a proud godfather. Here, look!” Junmyeon puts his phone down on the table and Yifei coos at the image of the toddler on the phone, or Junmyeon’s godchild, who looks no older than a year old. “This is Jisung and he turned one two months ago.”

Yifei looks up at Junmyeon, whose entire face is glowing in happiness as he talks about Jisung and Yifei realises that Junmyeon likes kids and an uninvited thought of their kids forms in her head and she chastises herself for thinking so far ahead. They only started kissing a few days ago! And she doesn’t even know if they even will end up taking their relationship to the next level. Though, she can wait if he wants to wait; it’s just, he can be really hot at times and she is itching to know how he looks without a shirt. Probably awesome, she can judge somewhat from all the time they had embraced each other.

The food arrives and Yifei smile gets big when she sees Junmyeon ordered her waffles. She did mention to him once how she can live and die for both waffles and pancakes, and he remembered. He ordered a full English breakfast for himself and Yifei steals a bacon from his plate. Junmyeon narrows his eyes at her and tries to shield his plate but then she pouts at him and he caves in and allows her to steal another piece of bacon. As she chews on it, she sends him a victorious smile and he can’t help but grin back.

 

After breakfast gets over, they take a stroll around before Yifei suggests a visit to the weekly flea market three stops away from the cafe, and Junmyeon doesn’t mind. He had already decided he wants to spend the whole day with Yifei. To his mischance, Yifei had tied up her hair in a loose bun, and he misses the way it cascaded down her back. But a few rebel strands escape and frames her face, and he can’t quite control himself when he starts playing with one, twirling it around his finger and watching as it stays curly for a moment before returning to its original shape.

Yifei is looking at him as they wait for the bus at the stop; it doesn’t annoy her as they share this silence together. They are sitting down, and Yifei notes how close they are, the sides of their bodies pressed against each other. She sighs and Junmyeon catches on, his brows rising as he asks, “Everything okay?”

Yifei smiles and cups the side of his face. She presses her lips against his for a brief second and smiles, “Everything is okay. That was a I-am-happy sigh.”

Junmyeon’s cheeks have darkened slightly again, but he widens his eyes as he understands what she meant. He inhales deeply, and Yifei bites her lip. He caresses her chin and tugs at it, to make her release her lip and he kisses her, his lips moulding to hers so softly, but with a passion that sears her senses that Yifei’s eyelids flutter close and she is glad she is sitting because otherwise her knees would have given out. She kisses back, trapping his upper lip and gently sucking on it; Junmyeon returns her the favour and Yifei feels a shiver run down her spine when she feels his tongue swipe over her lower lip. However, before the kiss could get any deeper, a loud horn tears them apart and both realise the bus is here.

They are both lightly heaving, this kiss got much deeper than their other ones, and they are both trying to rearrange their thoughts and legs as the walk towards the bus. They occupy the first empty seats they find and Junmyeon clasps their hands together and puts it on his thigh. They share a smile and Yifei puts her head on his shoulder with a low murmur, “Is this okay?” She has to bend a lot for that, but she doesn’t mind.

Junmyeon kisses the top of her head and answers, “This is more than okay.”

The journey doesn’t take too long and they talk about everything and nothing in between. They question some silly billboards, pass judgement together on redoubtable fashion choices and share a few kisses with a few giggle fits. Junmyeon cannot remember when was the last time he felt such a lightness in his being; Yifei realises she never had such a relationship before which didn’t stifle her or make her wrack her brain to continue the words. Or more importantly, try to fill the lapses of silence that would befall.

They reach their destination, they get down at their stop and hand-in-hand walk towards the flea market, which is already teeming with people, mostly families and couples like them. As Yifei watches a couple walk in front of them, she finds herself asking Junmyeon, “Hey, I know none of us bothered, but are we a couple?”

Junmyeon bites back the laughter at that. It’s true they haven’t labelled their relationship, and they didn’t feel like it in the beginning, but after a month, he finds himself confidently replying, “We are. And I guess this came better late than never, but Wu Yifei, will you be my girlfriend?”

Yifei throws her head back as she laughs, and it makes Junmyeon smile. He curls his hand around her neck and kisses her jaw--that seems to stop her amusement and she blushes as she nods her head, “Yeah, yeah, I would like that.”

Junmyeon chuckles and swings their conjoined hands. “That settles it then! We are now officially a couple!”

“Buy me cotton candy to celebrate!” Yifei cries out and points at a vendor nearby. She drags Junmyeon over, who complains, “Yifei! You are going to end up with diabetes _and_ cavities!”

They stop in front of the vendor and Yifei sticks her tongue out at him. “I would say YOLO but I would also end up cringing.” Junmyeon cringes on her behalf anyway.

They share the cotton candy despite Junmyeon lecturing how this confectionery item is the literal worst and he hates it. But then he tears a piece from the stick and Yifei has to comment, “Really Junmyeon? Really?”

They stroll through the market, browsing the various shops and stalls. Yifei ends up buying a few notebooks and Junmyeon ends up picking some toys for his godchild. They both spend a lot of time in the fish market, ooh-ing and aah-ing at fishes they have never seen before, especially in Yifei’s case, who doesn’t like fish very much--but she had fun playing with the crabs. They pass their time till lunch in the market, and for lunch they decide to grab anything from the nearest fast food restaurant. McDonalds’ it is, and Yifei has a small emotional moment when Junmyeon brings her a chocolate milkshake with a little chocolate syrup heart on it, though she covers it up by acting smartass. But, Junmyeon sees right through it and plants a kiss on her cheek, which leaves Yifei stunned for a second.

They are walking back to the bus stop when Yifei suggests, “Do you want to come over? We can watch a movie and steal popcorn from Yixing’s stash?”

Junmyeon wonders if this is Yifei’s version of “Netflix and chill”, or even if there is any innuendo behind it. But Yifei seems sincere and he realises she just wants to prolong their time together, which Junmyeon wants as well, so he eagerly agrees.

They return to Yifei’s apartment, which is empty, though she calls out, “Xingxing? You home?” When she receives no answer, she grins, “Time to raid his stash of snacks!”

Junmyeon chuckles as they take their shoes off and Yifei tells him to take a seat anywhere in the living room. It is after three and the sunlight is still bright and it peeks through the heavy curtains drawn across the huge windows. Junmyeon watches Yifei head upstairs and he walks up to the windows, pulls the curtains aside and appreciates the rather pleasant view of the city from here. He hears footsteps behind him and finds Yifei descending down the stairs, and oh _god,_ she is wearing shorts again, the really loose and short ones, and Junmyeon has to fight himself when his gaze landed on her legs. She hasn’t changed out of the sweatshirt she was wearing, which is huge and covers her thighs. If he couldn’t glimpse the light grey fabric peeking through every time she took a step down, he would have had a heart attack thinking she wasn’t wearing anything underneath. He deems her long, golden, sculpted legs a work of art and Yifei should probably get them insured.

She throws him a smile before heading for the kitchen; Junmyeon follows and finds Yifei rummaging under the sink. He joins her and when he peeks over her head, she finds her grabbing a huge plastic bag and dragging it out. He raises an eyebrow in question, to which Yifei answers, “Yixing thinks I won’t notice or I won’t bend down so much to find his stash, but I know his ways only too well.”

“So, he hides his stuff below so you won’t be able to see it?” Junmyeon asks.

“And I keep my stuff hidden above so he can’t see it!” Yifei adds. She grabs some snacks she likes and puts back the bag under the sink. She beckons Junmyeon to follow her and they make their way back to the living room where Yifei plops on the couch and pats the space beside her. Junmyeon sits down as Yifei grabs the remote. She asks, “So, what do you want to watch?”

Junmyeon pouts as Yifei browses through the selection of movies. She stumbles onto the Ghibli section while browsing and both ask each other at the same time, “ _Spirited Away_?” Yifei nearly squeals, “You like that movie?”

Junmyeon nods his head and tells his heart to calm down, because Yifei’s wide eyes and gummy smile are on full blast and it is too much for his poor heart. The afternoon sunlight melts into her eyes, tinting them amber and Junmyeon inhales deeply before replying, “I love every Ghibli movie.”

Yifei fluffs up a pillow and puts it on her lap as she starts the movie. They are sitting with some distance between them, and Junmyeon twiddles with his thumbs, wondering how he can close that. This would be the first time in the duration of their relationship that they are spending time together like this.

However, as soon as the title track is over, Yifei huffs, “This is fucking ridiculous,” and throws the pillow to the floor and moves closer to Junmyeon, who is taken aback at first, but quickly calibrates himself and throws his arm around her shoulder and tucks her against his side. He smiles down at her and brushes a lone blonde strand off her forehead. A few seconds later, however, both realise it is somewhat of an uncomfortable fit. Yifei puts her head on his shoulder and grumbles, “I am too big to cuddle, aren’t I?”

“Nonsense,” Junmyeon huffs and he thinks of an idea. He pushes himself down the couch and sits down on the floor, on the rather plush rug and pushes the coffee table to the side. He grabs a couple of pillows from the couch and tucks one behind his lower back. He looks back up at Yifei, who is watching him with great confusion. “You just need space for your legs, now come here.”

Yifei feels her heart stuttering. She is aware of how she doesn’t always fit, and how big her shoulders are, and how cuddling with her is a pain even though she always craved that touch, and her previous boyfriends wouldn’t embrace her outside the bed. She slides down the couch and Junmyeon makes space for her between his legs and Yifei crawls into them. She presses her back against his chest and he wraps his arms around her. She smiles as she sinks into his embrace, and her chest feels warm and there is a low buzz of contentment in her body.

They fall into a shared, comfortable silence as they watch the movie, occasionally throwing comments every now and then. Junmyeon is laughing when Yifei admits, “Okay, fine, I did have a massive crush on Haku. In my defense, I was all of twelve and real life boys were still yucky, and Haku could turn into a dragon? How cool is that!” Yifei likes how she could feel Junmyeon’s entire body vibrate in amusement and she turns her head around to look at him laugh, and it makes her toes curl in happiness. His eyes are half-moons and his cheeks are glowing, and wow, did her heart just skip a beat?

Yifei straightens up a little and kisses Junmyeon on his cheek. When the man stops laughing, he starts blushing and asks, “What was that for?”

“You are so cute when you laugh,” Yifei says with a small sigh. “I couldn’t help myself.”

Junmyeon’s lips curve into a smile as he brushes his fingers over her cheek. “And you are cute too when you admit your love for fictional characters.” Yifei rolls her eyes, but the comeback dies on her tongue when Junmyeon moves in and slots his lips against hers. The angle makes it easier for Junmyeon press down harder on Yifei’s lips, who eagerly parts her lips to suck on Junmyeon’s lip. She pulls his lower lip and gently nips at it, and he groans, tightening his hands around her. Yifei raises her hands to grab at his forearm when she feels his tongue prod at the seam of her lips. She parts her lips and when his tongue slides, curling against her, she gasps.

Junmyeon hears the sharp intake of breath and pulls back, thinking he went too far. But then, Yifei gives him a frown and pushes herself out from his arms, only to turn around and throw her legs around his waist. Junmyeon’s heart thuds loudly in his chest when Yifei in all honesty straddles him. She puts her hands on his neck and leans forward, biting lightly down on his lower lip and sucking on it. She feels his choked groan and she feels his hands come to grip her waist.

He moves his hands upwards, dragging the sweatshirt along and the light scratch of the fabric on her heated skin is suddenly so overwhelming since he is kissing her back, with equal fervour and want. Yifei tilts her head to the side, clutching harshly to the hair on Junmyeon’s neck as she curls her tongue around his and he finally, _finally,_ touches her, on her bare skin, slipping his hands underneath.

His hands splay on her skin as he moves his lips down her neck, letting her suck in the oxygen she didn’t know she needed. She shifts in his lap, and comes pressing down right on his crotch and he groans against her skin. Yifei licks her lips before grabbing the back of his head and pulling him off her neck. She presses her mouth hard against his and rolls her hips. It works, and Junmyeon’s blunt nails digs into her skin as he makes a choking sound again.

Junmyeon pulls back from the kiss and whispers as his fingers trace circles on Yifei’s back, “You gotta stop.”

Yifei tilts her head to nip along Junmyeon’s jawline as she murmurs, “What if I don’t?” She can feel it, his cock getting harder under her, and it makes her _want_. She presses her body down on his crotch again and she groans when he pushes his body up, right against her entrance. She huffs and pulls her sweatshirt off and Junmyeon’s eyes widen. Yifei finds herself laughing as he leans closer and kisses him again.

Junmyeon raises his hand, tracing the edges of the black bra Yifei is wearing, and he is tentative, which she can tell, so she pulls back and says, “You can touch me Junmyeon, you can touch me all you want.” She slips her hand underneath his shirt and smirks when she can feel his muscles jumping under her fingertips. She brings her lips down his neck and murmurs, “You can touch me anywhere you want.”

She guides his hand to the clasp of her bra and Junmyeon thankfully gets the hint, and with minimum struggle, he unclasped her bra and slides the straps down her shoulders. His warm, slightly rough hands cup her shoulders and plants kisses from her shoulder to her collarbone and up her neck as he tugs the undergarment away.

They hadn’t turned on any lights, just the afternoon light filtering through the slit in the curtains and a stream of sunlight falls on Yifei, haloing her golden hair and as she looks at him through her hooded eyes, through her thick lashes, Junmyeon finds himself sighing, “You are so beautiful.”

Yifei smiles and Junmyeon traces the skin under her breast, where the wires of her bra had made indents on her skin, making her shiver. She rubs her thumbs on his nape and whispers, “You too, Junmyeon.” She cups his face and brushes her finger over the faint mole atop Junmyeon’s lips. Their lips meet in a sweet, frenzied rush and Yifei groans when his hands move to cup her breasts and his thumbs gently flick over her nipples.

Yifei bites down on his lip, a bit harshly before pulling back. Her eyes are dilated, and her chest heaves, and Junmyeon licks his lips. He had already pushed the coffee table out of the way, so he pushes her down on the rug and Yifei, somewhere in her head, regrets the rugburns she will get, but she can’t care at the moment, not when Junmyeon has this dark look in his eyes, like he wants to devour her and Yifei shudders. She has never seen this side of the man before and it excites her to know what it will do to her. She says in a husky voice, “Please, Junmyeon, I need you.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't written het smut since 2014
> 
>  
> 
> I lowkey want to swerve writing that scene for this fic (I lie, I HIGHKEY wanna not do it)

**Author's Note:**

> this fic is based on real life events. okay, one real life event. i do work at a clothing company and we were doing fit checks today and i was Yifei running after a merchandiser in that ridiculous outfit. since my brain is wired to Krisho, this happened


End file.
